Collegeville author brings Irish experience to her debut novel

COLLEGEVILLE — She didn’t know it at the time, but her New Jersey roots would prepare Bonnie McKernan for the greatest adventure of her life, one that would hatch an idea for her own book.

Now a resident of Collegeville, McKernan spent 15 months researching, touring and exploring Dublin, Ireland. Her husband, who of is of Irish descent, was transferred there for work, giving her the opportunity to delve into some of the greatest Celtic secrets and traditions the place had to offer.

Published in November by Abbott Press, a division of Writer’s Digest, “Cliff of the Ruin” is McKernan’s debut work of historical fiction, telling the tale of a young woman’s journey from a small farm in New Jersey to the wild and mystical hills of Ireland.

Traversing the rolling hills of Dublin, McKernan discovered a lot she didn’t know before about that part of the globe. During an interview with The Times Herald, McKernan said some of her biggest inspiration came from the book “How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill.

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“He just put Ireland on the map — how much it brought to Western civilization after the dark ages and saved Irish literature through that time,” she said.

While her husband worked, McKernan was fortunate to have visitors to show around.

“With family members coming over, I played tour guide and got to learn a lot about what we were exploring,” she said. “When I got there, I married the facts of everything we were looking at — the monastic settlements and what not — with all the surrounding folklore, too. I tried to bring these sites to life.”

Having earned a living as a writer early on, McKernan knew she had the passion for what could be perceived as a daunting task of documentation. With a bachelor’s degree in art and business, McKernan started her career as an advertising executive with a Main Line advertising agency before making the unconventional switch to a copywriter years later.

Soon after their move and after McKernan’s third child was born, her husband fell ill and was diagnosed with leukemia.

“Oddly enough, when my husband became sick, I wanted to write a story with themes that — all of a sudden — became important to me,” she said. “It was a long, slow road. I just kind of knew I was going to write a story and it had to say something, it had to cover themes of substance.

“For a country having so much suppression over the years, it really had a major influence on our culture and religious texts. That’s where I started to fall in love with Ireland and preserving its folklore.”

McKernan, 48, calls her book “a work of historical fiction with a touch of magical realism.”

The story tracks the mysterious disappearance of the female protagonist’s husband and the great lengths her New York lawyer — a Civil War hero — goes to help her find him. When the investigation takes the two to cross the Atlantic into Ireland, answers are found in an ancient castle ruin, along with “other worldly obstacles,” said McKernan.

Her husband, a native of Bridgeport, eventually recovered from his illness. She attributed much of her success to her husband’s strength and humor and the way he encouraged her to push forward with the project.

McKernan said he is among many Irish in the Bridgeport/King of Prussia area, including Collegeville. She said living in the area has made her realize something.

“So many Irish in this area don’t seem to leave,” she said. “They are born here. They never leave. When we went to Ireland, we couldn’t find a single McKernan in the phone book. I don’t know if I am actually Irish or not, but I feel like I am now, because even in this area, there is so much Irish pride.”

Asked the lessons she hoped “Cliff of the Ruin” would bestow on its readers, McKernan said, “If we dwell on the past, it’s like we become a ruin and stop thriving, stop moving forward. That’s where it started — the concept of becoming a ruin. At some point, you have to make that choice whether you’re going to stay buried, or dust yourself off and move forward.

“A lot of these stories are usually about (a character) coming from the old country and starting anew in America. This is the opposite — somebody coming from America and rediscovering an unknown past, much like a lot of Irish people don’t know much about their Irish roots. There’s a rich history there and especially the folklore, that, to many Irish, were more than a collection of stories.”

“Cliff of the Ruin” is available in print and e-book formats. For more information, go to bonniemckernan.com.